


Lost Kallter Queen

by Burgie



Series: Katja Joins Team Good AU [38]
Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-23
Updated: 2016-08-23
Packaged: 2018-08-10 14:06:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7848037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mandy finds out one of her mother's secrets.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lost Kallter Queen

Mandy would never get used to just how cold it was in the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur. The thick, pressing fog only made things worse. Poor Wildfire, already fairly slow, was made even slower by the cold. It was like he was slowly freezing.

“Don’t worry, I’m getting a better horse for the cold now,” said Mandy, patting his neck. Her horse shivered again. Clearly he felt comfortable enough to show his true black and red colours here, but she could feel his discomfort.

Mandy rode up the road to the Kallters, taking out her pouch of star coins when she reached the top of the road.

“Hello,” said Mandy, trotting Wildfire over to Nanook and Sedna. “I have come to buy a horse.”

“Mandy, you know that we trust you enough to purchase one,” said Nanook. “Please, pick one, and promise again to care for it.”

“I will,” said Mandy. She inspected the fjords for a little while before finally deciding on a tan-coloured one.

“An excellent choice,” said Nanook, nodding as he untied the animal from the shelter. “Would you like to buy tack for him as well?”

“Yes please,” said Mandy. She let Sedna pick the tack out for her, trusting that the Kallter woman would be able to pick something good. She’d already picked Mandy’s outfit of traditional Kallter gear, which was very comfortable and fit perfectly.

“There we are,” said Sedna after putting the tack on the horse. “Ride him around a little to make sure it’s comfortable.”

“Okay,” said Mandy. She climbed up into her new mount’s saddle, finding it very comfortable indeed.

“Very nice,” said Mandy. While she counted out the star coins, she heard Nanook and Sedna excitedly talking about something in Kalltic. “What is it?”

“Mandy, your eyes are glowing,” said Nanook.

“They are?” asked Mandy. Strange. That usually only happened to her mama when she used magic.

“Yes,” said Sedna, grinning and a little breathless wih excitement. “You are our-“ she said something in Kalltic, and Mandy was reminded of when her mother did the same in some ancient language. Come to think of it, the language sounded the same.

“Our princess,” Nanook translated for her.

“I am? But how?” asked Mandy. “I didn’t know anything about the Kallters before I came here and met you two.”

“Who is your mother?” asked Nanook. Sedna said something. “Yes, she does look just like her, Sedna.”

“Which one?” asked Mandy. “My mama is a Soul Rider, and my other mother is a siren named Katja.”

“Yes, you are her!” said Sedna, still grinning in excitement. “Oh, this is so exciting!”

“Your mother was our queen,” said Nanook. “A long time ago, though. She only exists in stories now. Our lost Kallter Queen. She disappeared quite suddenly one day, and nobody knows what happened to her. Before that, though, she became very afraid. She created those doors, and they can only be opened if someone with the magic of the Kallters opens them. We use Kallstone to pass through the doors.”

“Do you want me to bring her to you?” asked Mandy. She knew that her mother had met one of the Kallters in her own time, but she hadn’t mentioned this. Then again, that Kallter had been the Ice Witch, who hadn’t spoken to her people in many years.

“She would help us greatly,” said Nanook. “Our people would finally be able to freely leave our home without needing Kallstone.”

“I’ll talk to her about it tonight,” said Mandy. “Thank you for the horse and the information.” She smiled as she rode away with Wildfire trotting behind her, but then her face fell as she remembered that she wouldn’t be able to bring her mother back with her. Oh well, she’d just say that her mother didn’t want to see them for whatever reason. Unless she could somehow find a way to get her mother in this timeline to see the Kallters…

In the end, she decided to just leave it. The Kallters seemed to be managing just fine. When she got back to New Hillcrest, she took the time portal back home and searched the bunker until she found her mother.

“Hi mum,” said Mandy, finding her mother in the lounge room watching a movie.

“Where did you get those clothes?” asked Katja, pausing the movie and turning to look at her. She looked frightened and a little sad. But she always looked a little sad about her past.

“I bought them from the Kallters,” said Mandy. “I’ve had them for ages, I just put them on today to buy a fjord. They told me something interesting, but I think you’ve figured out what it is anyway.”

“I actually forgot all about them,” said Katja, and laughed. It was a fake laugh. 

“No you didn’t,” said Mandy. “Avalon said that he got all the information on the Kallters from you. But he didn’t tell me that you were their queen.”

“I didn’t want to talk about it,” said Katja, looking down at her fingernails. “And I still don’t want to talk about it.”

“What if I ask mama?” asked Mandy. 

“I want you to hear it from me,” said Katja. “Or read it from me, anyway. Hang on, I have to get something.” She left the lounge room and was gone for a while before she finally returned carrying a faintly-glowing blue crystal.

“What’s this?” asked Mandy.

“A memory stone,” said Katja. “It works like a diary, though. Just press it to paper and words will appear on the page.”

“Like in-“

“Yes, like in Larry Porter and the Herd of Kelpies,” said Katja. She chuckled. “Here, take the stone.” Mandy took it and got up to search for some paper. She finally found some and pressed the crystal to the page, watching as a faint blue glow suffused the page. Mandy read through quite a few pages, all detailing how Katja had gone wandering the world after the last battle. She’d finally found a hidden valley that was strong with Aideen’s magic. Garnok couldn’t see into there himself, and she was honestly a little upset at him over taking control of her body to kill Alex.

There, she’d found a few people, much like how Jon Jarl had found the Silfer clan when he’d first come to Jorvik. They hadn’t had a name, but Katja had given them one. They would henceforth be known as the Kallters. She’d helped them build a civilisation, and they had made her their queen. The entries were all very happy for many years, but then a sadder one emerged.

_“Dear Diary,  
I knew this wouldn’t last. I got lucky last time and the Star was stillborn. But this time… I can feel the power growing again. Garnok is calling me back again, but I don’t want to go back. I can’t go back. I’ve made a home here, and I love it. I love my people and my castle. I love my land. My precious Kallters. They can’t survive without my magic. I have to do something.”_

_“Dear Diary,  
I did it. I poured all of my power into my castle. It will spread out into the land and sustain it when I am gone. I am weak now, so I probably won’t be able to fight. The feeling is getting stronger. I know that I will be called back soon. It could be only a matter of days. I have to make the most of my time with the Kallters. My Kallters. I think I know how Aideen felt now, when she first created Jorvik.”_

_“Dear Diary,  
I have to leave. I want to stay but I can’t. The power is too strong now, and someone will come here if I don’t go to them first. They’ll destroy this land, I know they will. Kallstone is incredibly powerful, a weapon that they could use to destroy everything. But I won’t tell anyone that I’m going. I will just disappear. I hope that they tell good stories about me, and my disappearance. They know that I am scared. I’m literally jumping at shadows. I just don’t want the fear to spread.”_

_“Seeing those doors close was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I am in Pandoria now. Alex found me crying in front of the doors. She tried to get in, but she couldn’t. Nobody can get in or out without Kallstone. Someday I will return to the Kallters. When I am safe again. If that ever happens.”_

A hand reached over and picked up the crystal before the next diary entry could begin.

“Well?” asked Katja. “Now do you understand?”

“Yes,” said Mandy. She hugged her mother, a few tears escaping. “They miss you, mum.”

“I know, and I miss them too,” said Katja. “But just getting my son back was hard enough. He was one person, and this is one entire people, one entire land.”

“Can’t you at least just tell them that you’re alive?” asked Mandy. “They’d love to know that.”

“No, I can’t,” said Katja. “I feel like a coward but I can’t have Garnok going after them. I’m hidden from him in the Valley of the Frozen Mist but not in there.”

“I understand,” said Mandy. “You just want to protect them. You’re not a coward, mum, you’re just being careful.”

“Well, I feel like a coward,” said Katja, pulling away a little. “And I feel so bad for abandoning them.”

“Maybe if you just explained things to them, they’d understand,” said Mandy.

“I’m not ready yet,” said Katja. She looked at the faint scar on her hand. “Especially not after what happened last time.”

“Okay,” said Mandy. “But can you at least teach me their language?”

“Of course,” said Katja. “And I’ll tell you some of the other things if I’m feeling up to it.”

“Thanks, mum,” said Mandy. “But I’ll give you time.

“Thank you, sweetie,” said Katja.


End file.
